Sharing with the Drama Queen

Like most young kids, Isaac is learning to share. He is learning how to share everything from toys to books to crackers to the park (yes, he is learning that he can't always have the park all to himself). Sharing with Maddie is something we work on everyday. If he takes a toy from Maddie, I usually give him my "mama look" (you know the one) and he softly replies, "We share da toys wif Maddie" (though he doesn't always give them back without coercion or manipulation).

The other day I took the kids for a walk to the grocery store after they woke from their naps. He LOVES this grocery store because they have special car carts that he can "drive" around. We were standing at the crosswalk about a block from the store, waiting for the light to change. An elderly man was waiting at the crosswalk with us. As soon as the sign said walk, he booked it ahead of us.

Isaac immediately became antsy, staring at our little crosswalk buddy as he sped ahead of us on the sidewalk, saying over and over (whether to himself, or the elderly man, I'm not sure) "We share da store...we share da store!"

That's right, buddy. We even share the grocery store.

Maddie has always been something of a drama queen, but she has taken this status to new heights recently. Here is a video clip of her in top form. She and Isaac love to play around on his car. He pushes her (sometimes a little wrecklessly--we're working on that) around the house. If you will notice, she is a bundle of smiles whenever he pushes her, but as soon as he stops, she squeals her ear-piercing squeal at the top of her lungs, as if she's just lost a limb or something. This is usually the only way Maddie chooses to voice her opinion.

Please excuse my camera skills--I was trying to help them with the car and direct the video at the same time and it didn't work too well.

We Love You, Grandma!

Ryan's maternal Grandmother, Marjorie, passed away peacefully last night after her battle with cancer. We love her and she will be missed. We are so happy that she is no longer in any physical pain.

Ryan and I were able to live close to Grandma for about 9 months. It was shortly after Isaac was born and we often took him on walks to her house. We would stop and chat with her for awhile and she was always so welcoming and pleased to see us. She loved to hold Isaac and diagnose all his baby problems--whether it be how he had a wet "nappy" (diaper) or a "windy" (burp) that was making him uncomfortable. Her South African accent was the greatest and I am thankful that we were able to get to know her better during that time. We only wish we had gone on more walks to see her and learned more about her life, and that we had taken the time to photograph her with our children.

Our thoughts and prayers are with our family members back home--we wish we could be there with you during this sacred time. We love you!

Bear with Me

I am well aware that I am more obsessed with my baby's hair than perhaps any other mother in the history of time, but bear with me here...

French Braids at 9 months old!

French Braids!!

I took both Maddie and Isaac to the Dr. a little over a week ago and I've been meaning to post their stats:

Maddie

Height: 26.75 inches (23rd percentile)

Weight: 17 lbs., 2 oz. (20th percentile)

Isaac

Height: 34 inches (40th percentile)

Weight: 27.2 lbs. (40th percentile)

One of my sisters tagged me a little while back (and I never turn down a tag---it's like a triple-dog-dare only much more important), so here's some more info about my kids that you may or may not already know (let's face it, this is a total "baby blog" and if you read it then you already know most of this stuff).

1. Full name: Madelyn Ruth

2. Birth: June 7, 2008 (6/7/08---pretty sweet b-day, huh? Future hubby has no good excuse for forgetting that one)

3. Stats: 8lbs, 10 oz. 20.5 inches long

4. Nicknames: Maddie Moo, Princesa

5. Favorite foods: Anything we put in front of her, but most especially guacamole, hummus, puffs, yogurt, and cheese. Oh, and anything sweet.

6. Least favorite foods: we haven't discovered anything that she's unwilling to eat (yet).

7. Favorite Toys: Anything Isaac is playing with, especially his car garage, sippy cup, and tooth brush (no wonder they're both sick today).

8. Favorite Color: Since she can't really tell me what her favorite color is I will just assume that it's pink.

9. Favorite animal: No idea--birds maybe because she likes to point at things in the sky?

10. Favorite Game: peek-a-boo and waving bye-bye with her dad.

11. Favorite movie: A little too young to say---Cars, maybe, since that's the only one she's seen?

12. Loves: Being outside. Standing up and climbing on top of everything. Eating. The swings and slide at the park. Pulling all the books off the book shelf and leaving them in a pile on the floor. Attention from anyone and everyone.

13. Hates: Being away from the action. She hardly ever cries when she takes her early afternoon nap because Isaac is with her, but she almost always bursts into tears for the late afternoon nap because she's by herself and hates to be left out.

1. Full name: Isaac Mitchell

2. Birth: March 10, 2007 (his b-day is my half b-day, and vice-versa---also pretty sweet)

3. Stats: 5lbs, 15 oz. 18.5 inches long

4. Nicknames: Ike, Chancho, Bubba

5. Favorite foods: Quesadillas, pizza, ketchup, ice cream, and especially CHOCOLATE

6. Least favorite foods: anything that's "a lidda bit hot"

7. Favorite Toys: Cars, tractors, fire engines, airplanes, or anything else that "goes"

8. Favorite Color: orange

9. Favorite animal: birds, dogs, horses, and even ladybugs

10. Favorite Game: Racing his cars

11. Favorite movie: Cars or any Baby Einstein video

12. Loves: Being outside. Climbing on top of EVERYTHING. The swings and slide at the park. When his dad comes home from school. Cooking with his mama. Eating chocolate.

13. Hates: Not being able to do things like a "big boy."

Miss Conventional

Maddie has discovered that, while the army crawl is fun, it's kind of hard to get around. Here she is with her newest (and slightly more conventional) moves.

I'm going to miss her little shoulder shimmy--I thought it was so cute.

And the Fun Continues...

Today was my parents' last full day in Iowa, so we decided to pull out all the stops.

First, we made a stop at the Baby Boomers Cafe for some of President Obama's favorite Chocolate Chunk cookies. Here you see my dad crossing party lines in the name of a cookie.

Then, we headed to the classy Southridge mall for a little carousel ride----Isaac was a little bit timid on his zebra...

...but Maddie couldn't stop squealing and dancing on her dragon as we spun around.

Here is a little video clip of the carousel. If you listen closely, you can hear Maddie squeal a couple of times after you see and unenthusiastic Isaac pass by. As we passed by Ryan, my dad, and the carousel operator, she kept squawking at them so they would look at her and see her in all her glory, riding her dragon.

Then we headed off to the zoo. Both the African animals and the Australian animals were out of commission (because of winter?), so that pretty much left the sea lions, the tigers, and the petting zoo.

Isaac wasn't too hip on feeding the billy goat (can't say I blame him, I don't like animals licking my hands either), but he loved feeding the fish because he just threw the little food pellets in the water. As we left he said, "I LIKE fish!"

Maddie wasn't too hip on the zoo (she had a mild melt-down), but she LOVED Hickory Park, the delicious BBQ resaurant where we ate tonight. We discovered she is a big fan of mashed potatoes and gravy--she couldn't get enough of them.

My parents said goodbye to the kids tonight before they went to bed since they'll be leaving before sunrise tomorrow. It was such a fun trip and we can't wait until they come to visit again!